Reims (also spelled Rheims), a city in the
Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies 129 km
(80 mi) east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the
Gauls, it became a major city during the period
of the Roman Empire.
Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in
French monarchical history as the traditional
site of the crowning of the kings of
France.
Some sources regard Reims as the effective
capital of the province of Champagne, given its
size as by far the largest city in the region.
The 2008 census recorded 188,078 inhabitants in
the city of Reims proper (the commune), and
291,735 inhabitants in the metropolitan area
(aire urbaine).
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The railway station at Reims (below) and the Ibis
Hotel, situated opposite the station, where our
group stayed for one night (right).
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An efficient transport system serves the
population of Reims.
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A short walk to the centre of the city
eventually leading to the cathedral.
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Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul,
Reims, founded circa 80 BC served as the capital
of the tribe of the Remi —
whose name the town would subsequently echo. In
the course of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul
(58-51 BC), the Remi allied themselves with the
Romans, and by their fidelity throughout the
various Gallic insurrections secured the special
favour of the imperial power.
Christianity had become established in the city
by 260, at which period Saint Sixtus of Reims
founded the Reims bishopric. The consul Jovinus,
an influential supporter of the new faith,
repelled the Alamanni who invaded Champagne in
336; but the Vandals captured the city in 406 and
slew Bishop Nicasius; and in 451 Attila the Hun
put Reims to fire and sword.
In 496 - ten years after Clovis, King of the
Salian Franks, won his victory at Soissons (486)
- Remigius, the bishop of Reims, baptized him
using the oil of the sacred phial, purportedly
brought from heaven by a dove for the baptism of
Clovis and subsequently preserved in the Abbey of
Saint-Remi.
For centuries the events at the crowning of
Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to
claim the divine right to rule.
Excavations have shown that the present
cathedral occupies roughly the same site as the
original cathedral, founded c.400 under the
episcopacy of St Nicaise. That church was rebuilt
during the Carolingian period and further
extended in the 12th century.
On July 6, 1210 the cathedral was damaged by
fire and reconstruction started shortly after,
beginning at the eastern end. Documentary records
show the acquisition of land to the west of the
site in 1218 suggesting the new cathedral was
substantially larger than its predecessors: the
lengthening of the nave was presumably to afford
room for the crowds that attended the
coronations.
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The towers, 81 metres tall (approx. 267 ft), were
originally designed to rise to 120 metres
(approximately 394 ft). The south tower holds
just two great bells; one of them, named
'Charlotte' by Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine in
1570, weighs more than 10,000 kg (about 11
tons).
The three portals are laden with statues and
statuettes; among European cathedrals, only
Chartres has more sculpted figures.
The central portal, dedicated to the Virgin Mary,
is surmounted by a rose window framed in an arch
itself decorated with statuary in place of the
usual sculptured tympanum.
The facades of the transepts are also decorated
with sculptures. That on the North has statues of
bishops of Reims, a representation of the Last
Judgment and a figure of Jesus (le Beau Dieu),
while that on the south side has a beautiful
modern rose window with the prophets and
apostles.
Fire destroyed the roof and the spires in 1481:
of the four towers that flanked the transepts,
nothing remains above the height of the
roof.
Above the choir rises an elegant lead-covered
timber belltower (above) that is 18 metres (about
59 feet) tall, reconstructed in the 15th century
and in the 1920s.
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The
famous "Smiling Angel" (left)
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Reconstruction work on the exterior of the
cathedral continues to this day...........
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From Wikipedia with acknowledgement :
"German shellfire during the opening engagements
of the First World War on 20 September 1914
burned, damaged and destroyed important parts of
the cathedral. Scaffolding around the north tower
caught fire, spreading the blaze to all parts of
the carpentry superstructure. The lead of the
roofs melted and poured through the stone
gargoyles, destroying in turn the bishop's
palace.
"Restoration work began in 1919, under the
direction of Henri Deneux, a native of Reims and
chief architect of the Monuments Historiques; the
cathedral was fully reopened in 1938, thanks in
part to financial support from the Rockefellers,
but work has been steadily going on since."
The Cathedral of Reims burns by G.
Fraipont (1915)
"The Cathedral of Notre Dame at Rheims was one of
the most beautiful buildings in the world. The
framework was still standing when the Germans began
their drive in 1918. In this instance
shells burst on the cathedral before the eyes of
many spectators."
Caption dated 20 September 1914 reproduced in
"Collier's New Photographic History of the
World's War" (1919), page 86 (above).
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